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Ship Categorization
Ships, ever since the earliest years as sea faring vessels, have been categorized for easy cataloging and differentiation. The list below is a look at the standard classifications both inside and out of Starfleet. It should also be noted that ships may have their classification changed over the years, the Ambassador Class was once an Explorer, but due to advances in technology and building practices it is now considered a Heavy Cruiser. Sub Catagories While most of the explanations will be fairly intricate, some ship classes have a subclass as well, either Heavy, Fast or Light, which also indicates the way it was designed. Heavy Heavy Ships are built sturdier and better armed than others of their type. But this extra combat capacity is at the cost of both speed and maneuverability, as well as sensors. Fast Fast ships are designed for speed and defense, typically with better arms and RCS than normal but lack the armour of other vessels. Light Light vessels are similar to Fast but lack the extra arms, in view of more science oriented systems. Support Craft Support craft are small one to six man ships that are used to harass larger ships. Their small size and maneuverability makes them difficult to shoot down, although they cannot pump out as much damage as an actual ship. Bomber The bomber is the slowest type of support craft, but makes up for it by having the heaviest arms and armor. This support craft can take a beating before being destroyed. Fighter The fighter is a small craft designed to take down other shuttle sized craft. It has a decent weapon complement for its size, and it the second fastest type of support craft. Heavy Fighter The heavy Fighter is a fusion of the Bomber and Fighter types. It can perform the duties of both. It is more heavily armed and armored than a standard fighter, but is slower than a fighter. It is also more lightly armed and armored than a Bomber. An example of a Heavy Fighter would be the Black Diamond fighter. Space Superiority Fighter Smaller than a Heavy fighter but larger than a fighter, these heavily armed fighters are designed to attack quickly and keep attacking head-on, with heavier shielding these craft are designed to last until the fight is over. Interceptor The interceptor type is the most lightly armored and armed of all the support craft. It is generally used to take down advancing fighters as they can easily outmaneuver any other type of support craft. The down side is they are also the most easily destroyed. An interceptor may be a Reman Scorpion Class. Runabout Larger and better armed than any shuttle, runabouts carry more equipment, supplies, and personnel than any other support craft. Lightly armored and armed runabouts are designed for short term independent missions, or as limited transports. Transport Approximately the same size as a Runabout, Transports are designed for moving people or cargo from one location to another, normally over relatively short distances, such as in system. Shuttlecraft Smaller two to four person vessel meant for short range movement and limited transport. Besides the Type 10, shuttlecraft are almost unarmed and unarmored. Shuttlepod Smaller than even shuttlecraft, shuttlepods are designed to ferry one or two persons a short distance. Spaceships Ships are larger vessels that perform various tasks. They are generally slower than a support craft, but make up for it with thick armor, powerful shields, and much more destructive weaponry. Battleship Battleships are large vessels designated explicitly for combat, although Battleships aren't built in Starfleet due to being a Non-military group. The closest thing in Starfleet is an Explorer. An example of a Battleship would be the Negh’Var class. Carriers Carriers are heavy cruiser or battleship sized vesseles that have been reconfigured to carry large amounts of support craft. Examples of a carrier would be the Courageous Class. Cruiser Cruisers are Starfleets standard vessels, mid to large builds, these vessels are designed to be jack of all trades, but are geared towards one of may functions. Typically the functions are Scientific/Research, Tactical/Patrol(Heavy), and Long Range Patrol(light or fast). While similar in essence to Explorers, Cruisers are smaller if just by a bit, making them quicker and easier to build. A Unique Classification was given to the Sovereign Class, 'Exploratory Cruiser' this puts it between the two classes, smaller than an Explorer, yet larger than a Cruiser. Destroyer A destroyer is a small single propose vessel. It is meant for combat and combat alone. These ships tend to have the armament of a light cruiser packed into the size of a frigate. They are fast an agile but lack the variaty of other systems to be general purpose ships, and for that reason starfleet tends to build few vessels with this classification. Examples include the Centaur Class. Dreadnought The dreadnought is one of the largest and most heavily armed vessels. These ships tend to be over a kilometer long and have weapons that are comparable to small fleets. The price for this is a lack of maneuverability and speed. The Hammerhead class, Entente Class, and the Borg Cube are examples of dreadnaughts. Escort As the name suggests Escorts accompany larger vessels to act as mobile firepower, and are the closest most Starfleet vessels come to being military. Smaller than Cruisers and larger than Frigates, Escorts are large enough to carry their own weight in a fight while being small enough to not be resource intensive. The most notable Escort is the Defiant Class. Explorer Explorers are the backbone of Starfleet, the largest most versatile ships. Designed to do tasks far from any other vessel they host the newest and most expansive selection of hardware, from shields, to science labs, to sensors and weapons. This leads to Explorers being the most heavily armed of all the ships in Starfleet. Explorers include the Galaxy Class and Intrepid Class. Frigate A frigate was a smaller ship generally meant to defend other ships from attacks. These ships are generally fast and maneuverable but lack in the fire power provided by the similar sized Destroyer type. They also are good for exploration because of their speed and shielding. Examples of this type include the Norway Class and the Crescent class. Scout Scouts are the lightly armored and armed. They tend to be used for exploration or for espionage activities. They are the most maneuverable of the starship types, and the hardest to detect on sensors. When this class is armed with a cloak they are almost impossible to spot. Example: The B’rel class Bird of Prey. Super Carriers Super Carriers are ships that are meant for mass transport of smaller ships and mass quantities of fighters. They may be the same size as dreadnaughts, but they lack the same firepower and defenses instead favoring bringing multiple ships and support craft into combat with them. Examples of super carriers include the Spindle Class.